Emami East Bengal would look to set their recent derby record straight against arch-rivals ATK Mohun Bagan when the two Kolkata giants face each other at their base, the Saltlake Stadium, in the Durand Cup here on Sunday.
The two bitter foes last clashed at the Saltlake Stadium was in the I-League on January 19, 2020, just before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Since then much water has gone under the Ganges with East Bengal playing under three different investors and both teams are now part of the Indian Super League.
East Bengal have suffered five back-to-back reversals from as many games in the ISL and I-League as they are yet to win a derby since their 2-0 win in the I-League on January 27, 2019.
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last two ISL seasons had to be held in Goa and the much-anticipated Kolkata derby were all closed-door affairs.
Expectedly, passion has reached its zenith for the Kolkata derby and all tickets were sold out "within an hour" for the 67,000-capacity Saltlake Stadium.
There has been a mad rush for tickets with many outstation fans from as far as Cooch Behar and Siliguri camping at the Maidan to get hold of a prized gate pass.
In such a backdrop, both the teams, who are in a rebuilding mode, would strive for their first win of the season.
The winning chemistry is missing from the Juan Ferrando-coached ATK Mohun Bagan, who started off with a shocking 2-3 loss to I-League outfit Rajasthan United and then drew 1-1 against Mumbai City.
The new look Mariners, without key players in Roy Krishna and Sandesh Jhingan, have looked rusty so far.
They have a promising mid and upfront lineup in Kiyan Nassiri, Liston Colaco and the talented Ashique Kuruniyan but the coordination seems lacking as the team looks short on match practice.
In such a scenario, East Bengal, under shrewd tactician Stephen Constantine, who knows Indian football inside out, will have their best chances to get their records straight and notch up their first win under the Emami group.
East Bengal, who are unbeaten having drawn both their matches in the group B, are ahead of their arch-rivals in the points tally.
Onus will be on skipper VP Suhair up front to go ahead and mount some early pressure. The duo of Aniket Jadhav and Tuhin Das would also play a big role in the flanks.
"It's a matter of pride for me to be part of the derby in front of a packed crowd at the Saltlake Stadium," Ferrando said on the eve of the match.
"I'm well aware of the passion attached to the derby so I'm taking it as a challenge to win the derby.
"I'm never in favour of the past statistics, and how many we have won... It would have no impact on tomorrow's outcome. Our aim is to get three points and I'm hopeful that we will come out with flying colours tomorrow."
He further said the team was not under any pressure after struggling to post a win from two matches.
"We are not under pressure... We have created opportunities and it's just a matter of converting them. We just had one preparatory match before the Durand. The team is in a rebuilding mode," he added.
East Bengal's investors Emami Group, on the other hand, made an appeal to their fans to stand by the team irrespective of the results.
"We understand that football is unpredictable and therein lies the magic of the game.
"Hence, we have one request to you, our dear family, that irrespective of the match results, you please continue to support the team and the players as you always have," read a message from the Emami Group.
"Your support, good or bad, is what your team needs the most."
